October 25, 2006, the day before the opening day of the season.

In the ESPN Atlanta branch building, the two protagonists who will play an NBA opening game in this city tomorrow are recording an interesting program jointly produced by Chaoting Channel and ESPN.

"Welcome everyone to watch the special program brought to you by ESPN Sports Channel and CCTV Sports Channel. I am Liu Mang Ice-Liu, and my partner today is Dirk-Nowitzki," Liu Mang said in Chinese.

, then turned to Nowitzki and asked: "Dirk, what is the reason for you to participate in our program?"

"Uh... No, Ace, did you call me after you're done to tell me there's a show to record today?" Nowitzki asked doubtfully.

"...Recording now! Click, stop..." Liu Mang pointed at the cameraman.

Nowitzki then remembered what he had just discussed and said quickly: "Oh, oh, oh, because I love China, I like China very much, and I hope that we in Germany can also be invited to participate in the conference held in Beijing in 2008."

Olympic Games, so I want to know more about China."

Nowitzki was a little excited. He rarely participated in such activities. It's not that he didn't want to participate. He didn't like filming commercials and the like, but he still liked being on TV, but no one invited him.

The director next to him was asking the producer: "Do you want to re-record?"

"No, that's it!" The producer immediately interrupted the director who wanted to interrupt the recording.

On the other side of the camera, Liu Mang saw that the recording had not stopped and immediately understood what to do. He said in Chinese again: "Okay, let's start again, 1.2.3, start. Welcome everyone to watch ESPN Sports Channel and CCTV Sports Channel bring you

special program..."

Nowitzki was ready this time and pretended as if nothing had happened. After Liu Mang finished his opening remarks again, he followed the script he was given and said again: "Hello, China, I am Dirk Nowitzki."

Ji, the reason why I participated in this show is because I love China... I want to know more about China."

"Thank you, Beijing welcomes you, then Dirk, I'm going to ask a few questions that Chinese fans want to ask you." Liu Mang flipped through the script. There are no questions that Chinese fans want to ask. They are all

It was compiled by Liu Mang himself.

Nowitzki became serious. The only script in his hand was how to answer the opening remarks, and the questions he was going to ask later were said to be questions to Liu Mang from German basketball fans collected by the TV station in Germany.

After pretentiously flipping through the pages, Liu Mang asked: "Dirk, the fans in our country are very concerned about your question..."

Liu Mang spoke in a longer voice, and Nowitzki looked at Liu Mang more intently, expecting what the problem was.

Liu Mang was very satisfied with Nowitzki's reaction and continued to ask: "...The fans are very concerned about whether your German team can make it to the Olympics? They are very worried that they will not see you in 2008."

It's a critical hit!

Nowitzki felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. The German team really couldn’t carry it! In the World Championships, the German team won three games, with 2 wins and 3 losses in the group stage, and 1 win and 2 losses in the rankings. The German team ranked second

Thirteenth in the world...

With this ranking, in the European division where there are so many strong teams, it is difficult to enter the Olympics...

Nowitzki replied: "I will try my best."

Still not very confident, but this is just a question of Liu Mang's appetizer. Nowitzki is waiting for the second question, hoping that the questions asked by the "Chinese fans" will not be so heartbreaking.

Nowitzki saw Liu Mang take out two large photos from the side of the chair and was curious, why do you need photos for the question?

Liu Mang couldn't hold back his laughter and asked: "What follows is a quiz..."

Nowitzki feels that the style of painting has changed a bit quickly. Just now it was a heart-wrenching question, why did it suddenly change to a quiz?

Liu Mang continued to ask: "Excuse me, which of the two photos below is Dirk Nowitzki?"

"?" Nowitzki was confused and looked at the photos Liu Mang opened. Nowitzki's eyes widened in the first picture.

He saw a photo of "him" with his face covered in silver paint, wearing strange things on his head, and wearing a "battle robe" standing on a big rock and smiling!

Cosplay?

Or is it such a heavy taste of cosplay?

"Oh ho ho... this is..." Nowitzki firmly believes that he has never taken such a photo.

At this time Liu Mang opened the second photo.

Nowitzki immediately looked over. It was after Nowitzki defeated the Spurs in the last game of the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season. He leaned up excitedly and twirled the blue jersey with his orchid fingers in his right hand.

His eyes were wandering, his blond hair was spread out, and he had a devilish expression sticking out his tongue arrogantly...

"NO..." Nowitzki screamed in despair. This was the pain of his life. When he saw this picture on the headlines that night, he almost collapsed...

Nowitzki is even doubting whether the first photo was an "artistic photo" he took while drunk...

I was originally nervous while recording the show, but at first glance, it was placed next to an unforgettable photo of myself, and I began to have self-doubt...

…

…

"If I call you, do you dare to agree?"

Nowitzki placed the photo of King Silver Horn next to him and taught Liu Mang several times. He still said this sentence in very poor Chinese. This scene was broadcast on the "Court Sports Channel" on the afternoon of Friday the 25th, Beijing time.

When the program "Basketball Park" was played, the fans in China who were watching this, which is considered to be the best basketball program on domestic satellite TV, burst into laughter.

They really hadn't noticed before that when people's impressions of Journey to the West were limited to the CCTV version of Journey to the West, Zhang Weijian's version of Monkey, and Star Wars' version of Supreme Treasure, there weren't that many spoofs on Journey to the West...

Fans know Liu Mang too well, and he firmly believes that Liu Mang deceived Nowitzki...

The original nickname given to Nowitzki by the court was "German Tank", which sounded domineering. German tanks are very famous and have once swept across the European continent.

But the German basketball team and the German tank...seemed to be inconsistent, so! Nowitzki's nickname changed...

Liu Mang accidentally started the beginning of the local nicknames for NBA stars in China...

…

"Haha, Ace, thank you for letting me know that I have so many fans in China." Nowitzki was very happy. Fortunately, the photo was not taken by him. It was a character from a mythical TV series.

In this case, Nowitzki can accept it more. He has a photo that is unbearable to look back on, and he doesn't want a second one...

Nowitzki finally knew his nickname in China. It turned out to be King Silver Horn.

Being associated with the word "king", Nowitzki's current mood can be described in one word... He thinks this nickname is very foreign...

But...Liu Mang really didn't expect that Nowitzki would really become popular in the domestic basketball world...
Chapter completed!